1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a reservation system for reserving various tickets of transport facilities, hotels, tours, etc. by means of a computer, more specifically, the invention relates to a reservation system terminal connected to a host computer for controlling reservation business through integration, in order to transmit operator's instructions to the host computer and to display response data returned from the host computer for use by the operator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the procedure required to acquire a reservation at a reservation system terminal is roughly as follows: (1) an inquiry as to the current reservation status is made of the host computer to check for the presence or absence of vacancy (e.g. unoccupied seats); (2) if unoccupied, a reservation acquisition instruction is transmitted to the host computer; (3) further, some information such as a name, a place where to make contact, etc. are inputted according to the necessity; and finally (4) a reservation record is prepared to complete the reservation procedure. Further, in some simple reservation systems, the reservation procedure can be completed by only the above steps (1) and (2).
In the prior-art reservation system, however, a series of the above-mentioned reservation procedures can be achieved when the operator inputs coded messages in accordance with predetermined formats through a terminal keyboard.
A prior-art flight reservation system now adopted by the Japan Air Line Corporation will be explained in further detail by way of example. When an inquiry is made into the reservation status, (1) the operator first inputs an instruction code indicative of a reservation status reference through a terminal keyboard; (2) a flight section code is inputted; (3) a date code is entered; and (4) a transmit key is depressed, finally.
For instance, when the reservation status referred to is the section between Haneda and Osaka on January 1, a message such as EQU AS HNDOSA 01 JAN
is inputted through the keyboard. This message is received by the host computer; the host computer informs the terminal of the current unoccupied status of flight numbers between Haneda and Osaka at that day; and the unoccupied flight number list is displayed on a terminal CRT image.
With reference to the displayed image, a reservation acquisition procedure is effected with respect to flight numbers displayed in the list. In this case, all the instructions and information data required for flight reservation such as flight number, class, the number of seats, etc. are inputted as codes in accordance with predetermined formats through the keyboard.
The prior-art reservation system is called entry-oriented system, because all the instructions to the host computer are dependent upon the operators' keyboard operation. In addition, since the messages inputted through the keyboard are coded in accordance with predetermined formats, the entry-oriented system mainly involves the following problems:
(1) The operability or ability to manipulate the system is poor. In more detail, the operator must remember all the instruction codes to be sent to the host computer, the input format, and necessary information codes, etc. In addition, the number of complicated instruction codes and input formats are increased more and more with diversification of the current reservation business. Further, since the prior-art system was originally developed in the U.S.A. and therefore the instructions are coded on the basis of English language, non-English speaking individuals find working the system difficult. As a result, it is practically impossible for unskilled operators to operate the system, and therefore many hours and large expenditures are required to educate and train the operators.
(2) Since all the operational procedure is dependent upon the operator's keyboard operation, a large multitude of key strokes are required for a single reservation processing and therefore the business efficiency is inevitably low. In addition, there exist other problems in that the operator tends to become fatigued, particularly in the eyes, fingers, arms, shoulders, etc.
(3) The intelligence capability of the terminal is not sufficiently put to practical use. A device provided with a high intelligence capability such as a personal computer is usually used as the terminal. However, the prior-art terminal is only used as a man-machine interface function between the operator and the host computer, so that it is impossible to store even the response data transmitted from the host computer or the information inputted by the operator. Therefore, since the response data and the input information obtained at the preceding procedure cannot be used again at the succeeding procedure, the operator must repeat the same operation as at the preceding procedure, thus resulting in a lower business efficiency.
To overcome these problems, conventionally some improvements have been made mainly in the terminal operability and practical use of intelligence capability as follows:
(1) Input guide formats necessary for a reservation procedure are provided within the terminal. The operator calls these guides in sequence according to their necessity for help in inputting the necessary information through the keyboard.
(2) A required number of keys at which various information codes are stored are provided for the terminal.
(3) Some often used input format examples are stored in specific keys, and other formats only for items of different contents are modified before to the terminal.
(4) A display image is divided into a plurality of areas, and some information required for the succeeding procedure is kept in some areas.
In the above-mentioned improvements, however, since the improvements have been made in relation to the entry-oriented systems, in which all the procedure is dependent upon the keyboard operation, the intelligence capability of the terminal is not sufficiently put into practical use, and the above-mentioned problems involved in the prior-art reservation system terminal are basically left unsolved.